Clothes-pin.



PATENTBD N OV ZZ, 1904.

A. G. FRENCH. CLOTHES PIN. APPLICATION FILED JULY 16, 1904 N0 MODEL.

gwumtom wi/bwe/wa llNiTED STATES Patented November 22, 1904.

ATENT @rricn.

CLOTHES-PIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 775,561, dated November 22, 1904.

Application filed July 16, 1904. Serial No- 216,'795. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFONSO CLAUDE FRENCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Daingerfield, in the county of Morris and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Clothes Pins, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to clothes-pins of resilient wire adapted to be readily placed upon a line and-removed therefrom without being liable to accidental removal, to hold to the clothes-line with a yielding grip, preventing undesired sliding, yet not interfering with moving the pin along the line when desired, and to hold the clothes to the line by a yielding grip of parts other than those depended upon to prevent sliding along the line.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the clothes-pin in use. Fig. Q'is a side elevation of the same device.

In this specification that side of the clothespin which is uppermost in the drawings is termed the upper side, and the vertical plane of the clothes-line when thelatter is located as shown is called the medial plane.

In the figures, A represents any suitable clothes-line, and B a clothes-pin thereon hold-v ing a textile article C.

The clothes-pin consists of a large central coil transverse to the medial plane and provided with two similar arms F, extending oppositely from the upper side of the coil nearly in the medial plane and each terminating in a spring-clamp. The wire of which the clothespin is made is preferably highly elastic,'and it may be formed by so winding the central coil that the unwound end portions of the wire extend-downward at the opposite ends of the coil and upon opposite sides of the same, bending each end portion toward the medial plane, extending it to the opposite end of the coil and bending it upward to form a loop E nearly in the plane of the coils lower side, thence following the curve of the coil to its upper side, thence horizontally outward from the coil to a point .G, thence downward as a straight segment J nearly to the plane of the coils lower side, thence upward to the arm F and downward again to the plane of the coils lower side, then again upward as a straight segment K to the upper side of the circle H, where it is bent closely about the body of the wire. The portions J K are thus made upwardly convergent, and the part H yieldingly resists their separation, so that this end forms a spring-clamp at the end of a spring-arm F.

In placing this device upon the clothes-line it is brought in erect position to a point immediately below the line, with the arms parallel thereto. The arms are then sprung laterally in opposite directions, so that the circular springs are on opposite sides of the line. and the clothes-pin is then raised relatively to the line until the latter passes between contiguous turns of the coil to the position shown in the drawings. The arms are then raised, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and swung back into their normal vertical planes and are then pressed downward, the clothes-line entering the spaces between the parts J and K. The device may be removed from the line by reversing this operation, but not otherwise, no pull upon the pin in any direction having any tendency to separate it from the line.

Any number of the clothes-pins may be placed upon the line, it requiring but afew seconds to remove or replace each, and while each is held so that it will not crawl along the line it may be forcibly moved without the slightest inconvenience. In use either arm may be raised, the article to be held placed beneath the clamp which it carries, and the clamp be then pressed downward to the position shown in Fig. 1, when the article will be securely held by the strong force of the circular spring. In raising the arms the turns of the middle coil yield and then tend to' restore the parts to place. This coil thus has two functions, the other being to grip the line by yielding resistance to separation of successive turns of the coil.

It being obvious that the exact forms shown need not be followed, I do not wish to limit myself to them.

What I claim is 1. A clothes-pin consisting of a central spring-coil having oppositely-extending arms .each hearing at its free end a clothes-holding clamp, said coil adapted to be pressed upward upon and to grip between its consecutive turns a clothes-line transverse to the coils axis, and said clamps adapted to be independently pressed downward to a limited extent only over the same line; whereby the coil prevents upward detachment from the line and the clamps prevent downward detachment by a downward pull.

2. A clothes-pin having a central spring-coil adapted to grip between its turns a line transverse to the coils axis and having its projecting constituent wire ends carried to the opposite ends of the coil, respectively, and thence laterally outward from the coil to form terminal clamps, substantially as set forth.

3. A clothes-pin having a central wire coil adapted to grip between its turns aclothes-line transverse to the coils axis, the wire at each end of said coil being carried to the opposite end of the coil, reversed in direction about the coils axis, extended laterally from the coil, and provided with a terminal clamp, substantially as set forth.

4. A clothes-pin provided with a yielding arm having at one end a device for securing it to a clothes-line and at the opposite end an integrally-formed clamp consisting of two down wardly-divergent straight segments of wire having their lower ends integrally connected by a curved resilient segment passing near their upper ends in a plane transverse to said arm, substantially as set forth.

5. The clothes-pin consisting of a central coil adapted to grip between its turns a clothesline transverse to the coils axis, the ends of the coil-forming wire passing to the opposite ends of the coil, respectively, and by reverse winding to the upper side of the coil, project ing oppositely transversely with respect to the coils axis, and each having its terminal portion bent into a spring-clamp in position to swing over a clothes-line held by the coil, substantially as set forth.

in testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALFONSO CLAUDE FRENCH.

Witnesses:

W. S. GURLEY, E. M. RAGLAND. 

